Britain Expat Forum for Expats Living in the UKThe Britain Expats forum is a community of people that have moved to the UK from overseas. This is the place for Expats to meet and discuss anything about the British way of life.

Hi All
My husband has been offered a job in Brighton, UK for about 80,000/annual (pounds)- so is that a decent amount for a one-income family with 3 kids? We are open to living anywhere near a train station to get him to Brighton- so what housing costs are we looking at?
Does anyone know if we can keep our US cars (have them shipped over to UK) and legally drive them?
Thanks!

Hi All
My husband has been offered a job in Brighton, UK for about 80,000/annual (pounds)- so is that a decent amount for a one-income family with 3 kids? We are open to living anywhere near a train station to get him to Brighton- so what housing costs are we looking at?
Does anyone know if we can keep our US cars (have them shipped over to UK) and legally drive them?
Thanks!

I used to live near Brighton, not my favourite place, but thats just me. A lot of people who work in Brighton live in a place called Haywards Heath, which as a direct line into Brighton and is lovely, its about 10 miles from Brighton and a medium sized town with good facilities,schools etc. But perhaps take a look at the trains and their stops??? and then take a peak at those places???

Hi All
My husband has been offered a job in Brighton, UK for about 80,000/annual (pounds)- so is that a decent amount for a one-income family with 3 kids? We are open to living anywhere near a train station to get him to Brighton- so what housing costs are we looking at?
Does anyone know if we can keep our US cars (have them shipped over to UK) and legally drive them?
Thanks!

I really, really wouldn't bother shipping your cars over to the UK. Driving on the "other" side of the road is MUCH more difficult if you're on the wrong side of the car to start out with. Sitting on the right side to drive kind of reminds you constantly to drive on the left... well, almost constantly.
Cheers,
Bev

I really, really wouldn't bother shipping your cars over to the UK. Driving on the "other" side of the road is MUCH more difficult if you're on the wrong side of the car to start out with. Sitting on the right side to drive kind of reminds you constantly to drive on the left... well, almost constantly.
Cheers,
Bev

Actually, and it may be a myth, but I've heard that USA cars are usually quite big and very "thirsty". Petrol is very expensive in the UK and theres a real drive (excuse the pun) to encourage people to drive small, economical cars - higher tax for big cars etc!

Actually, and it may be a myth, but I've heard that USA cars are usually quite big and very "thirsty". Petrol is very expensive in the UK and theres a real drive (excuse the pun) to encourage people to drive small, economical cars - higher tax for big cars etc!

Jo xxx

My very first trip to Europe (back in 1972) I stumbled onto a full page ad in the London Times imploring Europe "not to make the same mistake the Americans have made" in opting for big, gas-guzzling cars. The cartoon that illustrated the ad was brilliant - and I'm still sorry I didn't save a copy of that advert.

But when I lived in the UK, I swear it was only because I was sitting on the "wrong" side of the car to drive that I only really once "forgot" which side of the road I was supposed to be on. Making turns at intersections is the worst time - when you tend to head for the right side of the road you're turning into if there isn't a car already there pointed straight at you!
Cheers,
Bev

My very first trip to Europe (back in 1972) I stumbled onto a full page ad in the London Times imploring Europe "not to make the same mistake the Americans have made" in opting for big, gas-guzzling cars. The cartoon that illustrated the ad was brilliant - and I'm still sorry I didn't save a copy of that advert.

But when I lived in the UK, I swear it was only because I was sitting on the "wrong" side of the car to drive that I only really once "forgot" which side of the road I was supposed to be on. Making turns at intersections is the worst time - when you tend to head for the right side of the road you're turning into if there isn't a car already there pointed straight at you!
Cheers,
Bev

I'm the other way round here in Spain and yes you're right about the side you sit on determining which side of the road you drive on - I nearly drove a friends RHD car here in Spain a while ago and - no it would have confused the hell out of me !!!

Hi All
My husband has been offered a job in Brighton, UK for about 80,000/annual (pounds)- so is that a decent amount for a one-income family with 3 kid?

£80k gross (which is around £53,500 net or £4,459 a month) is a good salary, but whether it's enough to ensure a comfortable life depends on the living standard you are accustomed to. It should be enough to rent a suitable house/flat in not too expensive an area, run one modest car and send children to local state schools, but if you need to pay private school fees (such as for American international school), it may not be. It also depends on what overall expat package you are getting, such as help with relocation, housing, trips home and education. Remember, you as his spouse is allowed to work in UK without work permit, including working remotely online for US employer and self-employment.

Actually, and it may be a myth, but I've heard that USA cars are usually quite big and very "thirsty". Petrol is very expensive in the UK and theres a real drive (excuse the pun) to encourage people to drive small, economical cars - higher tax for big cars etc!

Jo xxx

@ JoJo - that's not a myth LOL, but we have a hybrid, a motorcycle and a two seater convertible, so that doesn't quite apply in our case. I was asking because both cars are new (1.5 yrs old and 3 months old) and we would take a huge loss financially to sell them as they are both very expensive models. So we would rather keep them if possible.

£80k gross (which is around £53,500 net or £4,459 a month) is a good salary, but whether it's enough to ensure a comfortable life depends on the living standard you are accustomed to. It should be enough to rent a suitable house/flat in not too expensive an area, run one modest car and send children to local state schools, but if you need to pay private school fees (such as for American international school), it may not be. It also depends on what overall expat package you are getting, such as help with relocation, housing, trips home and education. Remember, you as his spouse is allowed to work in UK without work permit, including working remotely online for US employer and self-employment.

-@Joppa - Thanks- I know there are a lot of determining factors of "comfortable living", we would likely have just one car and only 1 of our 3 kids is school age, (15yr old) the other two are babies. I wouldn't work for at least 5 more years so I can stay home with the babies until they are in school. We don't yet have the final details of the relo package, but I do appreciate you post as it gave me some valuable information to ask them to include in it such as housing allowance and trips home both of which would benefit us.

-@Joppa - Thanks- I know there are a lot of determining factors of "comfortable living", we would likely have just one car and only 1 of our 3 kids is school age, (15yr old) the other two are babies. I wouldn't work for at least 5 more years so I can stay home with the babies until they are in school. We don't yet have the final details of the relo package, but I do appreciate you post as it gave me some valuable information to ask them to include in it such as housing allowance and trips home both of which would benefit us.

I personally think that 4,000 + a month would be ample in most areas south of London. three children, a car.... 4,000 sounds good to me. Ok, you're not gonna be living in a mansion or have house staff, but you'll be fine being a normal family with young kids IMO !

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